Plans drawn for new concert hall in Tallinn

The facility will be located in the historic Skoone bastion area close to the Old Town

The City of Tallinn is moving ahead with plans for a new concert hall for the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, ERR reports.

Change of location

The plans are not new, but the location of the future building has been an issue. Initially, an idea has been floated to build the concert hall at Harju Oru near the Kiek in de Kök museum, but since late autumn, the Skoone bastion area close to the Old Town has been gaining weight as a promising alternative. All stakeholders now believe this location has an advantage over the previous site.

Two initial designs have been created for the concert hall and are currently being discussed with the heritage protection authority. Because the area is protected, the design of the building must conform to special conditions.

Kristjan Hallik, a member of the board of ERSO Foundation, told ETV's "Aktuaalne kaamera" that both designs were worth considering and that the building has been envisaged as a mixed cultural space.

"Certainly we would not occupy this hall in such a way that no one else can use it. We think that we would have good cooperation with the art academy and young artists in this space, so that a good creative environment would be ensured here for the next hundred years," he said.

One of the sketches has been created by architectural firm Molumba. Karli Luik, an architect at Molumba, said the concert hall will help revive a currently unused part of the city and connect it better to the Old Town. Apart from the main building, there would also be an outdoor stage and cafes, she pointed out.

Skoone Bastion

Skoone Bastion, also known as Skåne bastion or Rannamägi, is the mightiest Baroque fortification building in Tallinn, Visit Tallinn informs. The bastion dates from around 1680-1710 and owes its name to the South Swedish province of Skane.  

In 1948, a Stalinist-style summer theatre - the biggest wooden building at that time in Estonia - was erected on the bastion grounds. In 1997 the summer theatre was destroyed in a fire. A temporary Straw Theatre took its place in the summer of 2011 as part of Tallinn’s European Capital of Culture programme.

In the area around Skoone Bastion, different playgrounds have been set up, including the first parkour ground in the whole of Eastern Europe.